RFA-FD-22-021
AFDO’s System for Agriculture, Food, Health, E-Inspections and
Registration (SAFHER): Project Summary
The Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) will direct and implement the activities under
this cooperative agreement which will facilitate FDA’s implementation of integrated information
technology infrastructure that enables data management, data exchange, and information sharing
between and among State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) partners in both human and
animal food programs and FDA, and help increase mutual reliance between agencies, advance
One Health, and help deliver core elements of the New Era of Smarter Food Safety blueprint.
AFDO has been representing regulatory food programs, including state retail and manufactured
food programs, since 1896. The Principal Investigator and project staff include former state IT
project manager that has extensive experience managing state food program data management
systems, several former state food program managers who can advise on the development and
implementation of technology and collaborate with SLTT partners and FDA on ensuring the
delivery of a nation-wide regulatory data management system.
Major activities conducted under this cooperative agreement include but are not limited to:
• Providing oversight and support for the establishment of an integrated information
technology infrastructure by planning, developing, implementing, operationalizing, and
maintaining a data management system for SLTT partners and FDA
• Increasing the adoption and usage of the FDA ORA Data Exchange between regulatory
partners
• Ensure data management system design is interoperable with FDA systems FACTS,
eSAF, and ALIS
• Advancing Domestic Mutual Reliance by furthering the development of the New Era of
Smarter Food Safety blueprint core elements
• Supporting future advancement of a Food Safety Information Network to meet national
regulatory program standards
• Optimize public health outcomes by supporting a One Health approach by enabling the
sharing of cross-jurisdictional data among SLTT partners and FDA to better respond to
contamination events
• Create a data management governance structure to ensure administrative, technical, and
physical safeguards are employed to comply with applicable confidentiality, risk
management, and continuous monitoring requirements for sensitive data
• Implement a strategy to accomplish the objectives of the cooperative agreement and
promote diversity